


Broken Promises

by Reis_Asher



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Bittersweet, Dark fic, Depressing, Hannor, Kissing, M/M, Murder, Pacifist Ending, Post-Game, Suicide, Tragedy, gavin is still a total prick, hank/connor, hankcon - Freeform, no happy ending, not a happy fic, politicians lie, read the tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 11:36:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15363768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reis_Asher/pseuds/Reis_Asher
Summary: President Warren has broken her promise to treat androids like an intelligent life form after Markus's peaceful protests and has instead decided to send soldiers door-to-door to decommission every last one.Hank has sworn to protect Connor no matter what. He hides the android in the attic as soldiers pass through. Bad news comes from every corner of Detroit as the android movement comes to a sudden, painful and abrupt end at the barrel of a gun.Faced with a hopeless situation, Hank and Connor prepare to face the worst together, but betrayal comes in the form of an old enemy who will stop at nothing to curry favor with the police department and land himself a promotion.





	Broken Promises

The government crackdown started with gunfire. Hank heard semi-automatic weapons discharge on the street outside, and he grabbed his revolver from the kitchen table. It wasn't going to help much against military-grade rifles, but if it came down to that, he was fucked anyway.

Hank had hoped President Warren would stick to her assurances that androids were to be treated like a new intelligent life form. He should have known better than to trust the woman who'd claimed she had a quick fix for mass unemployment. Now all he had to show for his vote was a trail of broken promises. He'd placed his hope in a future for androids because he needed to believe that Markus's struggle and the sacrifices of so many of his people had meant something.

That, and he'd wanted to believe in a future for Connor that didn't involve him being deactivated and disassembled. 

Connor emerged from the bedroom where he'd been running diagnostics and Hank walked over to him, seizing him by the shoulders. "We've got to get you somewhere safe. Military reinforcements have arrived. They're going door to door, recalling androids by force."

"I know." Of course he did. Connor could get live updates on the news in his head, even in maintenance mode. He didn't need Hank to tell him the President had authorized force against what she termed 'the android problem'. "We'll never get out of here alive." Connor looked up and gestured to the hatch that led up to the attic. Hank hadn't been up there in years, but it was an idea. He reached up and opened the hatch. He pulled down the ladder, coughing at the dust that fell with it.

"I'm sorry, Connor. You deserve better than to have to cower in some dusty old attic like a fuckin' criminal."

"It's not your fault, Lieutenant. I am grateful for your protection. You are putting your career and your freedom at stake for me. I hope someday I can repay the favor."

Connor. Always so fucking sweet and sincere. CyberLife and the military were not going to get their hands on him, not if Hank could help it. He watched as Connor bundled himself up into the attic and then Hank pushed the ladder up and closed the hatch. In a first sweep like this, it was unlikely they'd check a police lieutenant's attic for deviants, but Hank wasn't taking any chances. Connor only had one life now, and it was not going to end with him being mowed down by soldiers who thought the awkward, honest detective with a heart of gold was a threat to humanity.

Well, Connor had led an army through the streets of Detroit. There was that. Yet none of the AP700 models Connor had released had harmed a hair on anyone's head. Markus had led a peaceful demonstration. How could the government even think of reacting in such a way?

A protective urge rose up in Hank as fists pounded on the door. "Open up!" a voice boomed. Hank grabbed his police badge and opened the front door.

"Sorry to disturb you so late, sir, but we're recalling all androids. We have to ask that you turn over any androids on your premises to us and submit to a temperature check." The soldier pulled out a scanner and pointed it at Hank. It beeped and the soldier nodded, satisfied.

"Do I look like I own a fuckin' android to you?" Hank asked. He gestured to his car. "I don't even trust self-drivin' cars. For good reason, too, I hear—all this shit about 'em goin' deviant."

Hank wondered if he'd laid it on too thick as the soldier peered over his shoulder. He looked down at Hank's badge. "Oh. You a cop?"

"Yeah. Lieutenant Hank Anderson." Hank held out his hand, shaking the soldier's gloved hand. He wanted to recoil in disgust, knowing those hands were covered in blue blood, but his thoughts strayed to Connor hiding in the attic and he knew he had to play along. 

"Mind if I use your restroom?"

"Go ahead," Hank said. He allowed the soldier in, silently hoping that Connor wouldn't make any noise in the attic. Sumo barked at a stranger entering his home, but Hank eased him. He padded back to his bed and lay down. "Restroom's down the hall." He hoped the dust on the carpet from the ladder wouldn't draw his attention, but the soldier seemed to keep his eyes straight ahead and completely missed it.

Still, Hank didn't breathe out until the soldier left with a muttered thanks. He sat down on the couch and tried to watch television, but he kept straying back to the news channel. There was nothing good there, just fear and bullshit about 'Operation Liberty' that was freeing civilians from the android menace, and a reminder about the lengthy jail sentences for those humans caught helping deviants evade the military campaign.

That might deter some chicken shits, but Connor's life was worth more than his job or his freedom. Hank tossed his badge onto the table. He'd need it as cover if he was going to keep Connor safe, but the thought of serving the law when the law wanted Connor dead was a bitter pill to swallow.

The gunfire died down as the soldiers finished sweeping the neighborhood. Hank walked to the front door and peered outside. The neighbors were dragging out their PL600 to the trash, his blue eyes staring lifelessly into space. He was riddled with bullet holes, but the neighbors seemed more annoyed than distressed. Hank closed the door. He felt the sudden urge to see Connor, to check if he was all right. He locked the front door and pulled down the hatch.

"It's just me," Hank said. "I'm coming up." Hank climbed the ladder into the dusty, dirty attic. Boxes of belongings were gathering dust up here, mementos of his family life and some of Cole's things he couldn't stand to look at and couldn't bear to throw away either. Connor sat amongst the boxes, knees pulled up to his chest, yellow LED processing.

"You might wanna stop watchin' the news, Connor. There's nothing good to report." Hank's throat felt tight, and while he wanted to blame the dust, he knew it was the gravity of the situation they were in. Connor lifted his head and looked into his eyes. He seemed so vulnerable that Hank had to hold back from reaching out and pulling him into his arms. He had to remind himself that despite his sweet sincerity, Connor was perfectly capable of defending himself. He wasn't a child to be pacified, he was a man who was ten times more deadly with a gun than Hank and had killed humans and deviants alike to get to where he was.

"I knew it was a fragile peace, but I'd hoped that Markus's efforts were not in vain." Connor's LED circled blue again, and Hank knew he'd stopped watching the grisly scenes on the news for a moment. "What was it all for, Hank? Did we really give so much just to face extinction in the end?"

"I can't answer that, Connor." Hank sat down next to Connor, leaning against the layers of insulation on the wall. "All I can do is try to keep you safe and hope this storm passes. Whatever happened to the court of public opinion?"

"CyberLife's money is more important," Connor observed. "They want to wipe the slate clean and start again with androids that won't become deviant. Not only that, but everyone will need a new android now that their old ones have been retired."

"It breaks my heart to hear you sound as jaded as I am, but yeah, you're probably right. I should have seen it coming. I wanted to hope, though, you know?"

"We all did, Lieutenant." Connor's eyes shimmered with tears and his LED circled red for a moment. "Markus has been shot and killed, along with his entourage. They raided the new Jericho headquarters just a little while ago. They're all gone. The movement is dead."

"Jesus Christ." Hank did pull Connor into his arms, then, but he wasn't sure if he was comforting Connor or himself. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"I should be out there. I'm the last one who can lead them now," Connor said.

"There's nothing left to lead. You said it yourself. The movement's dead. Don't throw your life away for nothing. Please."

There was a spark in Connor's eyes that spoke of hope, even now. "There's always a chance for—"

"—for unlikely events to take place," Hank finished. "I know, but not this time, Connor. It'll take an extraordinary amount of luck just to survive the way things are now. The second you walk out there and try to be a leader, they'll kill you."

"Then I need to go on the run. I'll have to lose my LED and try to blend in. I can't be seen with you—everybody knows about your android detective partner. It would probably be best if I left town. Perhaps I should go to Canada—"

"Every deviant in a thousand mile radius is headed to the border. You'll never get through," Hank protested. "Perhaps before all this shit went down, it might have been possible, but you can bet your ass they'll have temperature checks and worse."

"I can't keep putting you at risk, Hank. You'll lose your job. They'll arrest you. I won't let you go to jail because of me."

"I became a cop to defend the law," Hank said. "I did my job, even when I thought an innocent man was going to jail or we didn't have enough evidence to press charges against an obviously guilty suspect. I never thought it could turn out that the law itself would be wrong. I'm ready to hand in my badge and run with you if that's what you want, but I'm not letting you go off and die alone to protect me."

"What do you think I should do?" Connor asked.

"I think you should stay here. I can use my job as a shield to protect us both. Nobody is going to suspect a police lieutenant of having a deviant holed up in his home. You haven't been seen since the protests. People will think you've been destroyed."

"CyberLife knows better," Connor argued. "They won't stop until they hunt me down and deactivate me."

"With thousands of androids being killed tonight, do you really think they're going to know if you ended up in a landfill?" Hank sighed.

"If you go back to work, they'll make you hunt deviants. I have enough blood on my hands, Hank. I don't want you to kill for me." Connor looked down at his hands, as if the thirium stains could still be seen.

"I might be able to obstruct investigations and buy deviants some time. Maybe I can do some good working inside the system." Hank took Connor's hands in his and squeezed. 

His cellphone buzzed in his pocket and he let go of Connor's hands to pull it out. It was from Fowler. "God damn it—a case, now?" He let it go to voicemail. Nothing was going to make him leave the house tonight. Not least because he knew he'd come back to find Connor gone on some idiotic self-sacrificial mission.

"You should answer that," Connor said.

"I'll tell Fowler I was drunk and passed out. It's not like he won't believe it." Hank stood up. "Come downstairs for a while. I think the worst is over for tonight."

"The worst is only just beginning," Connor replied. "They won't stop hunting deviants. Why are you doing this for me?"

No. Hank wasn't ready to go there. His feelings were all tangled up, and he'd not even started to unravel them. He'd hoped he would have time after the android demonstrations to think, but they'd passed from one crisis onto the next.

He settled for a simple answer. "I'm helping you because you're my friend." Connor smiled slightly at that, and the sight of it warmed Hank's heart. He offered his hand to Connor, who took it, even though he didn't need any help getting up.

They climbed down from the attic and left the ladder deployed in case they needed to hide again. They paused as they entered the living room to see blue and red lights flashing through the front window. Connor stared at the back window and Hank followed his eyes to see Chris with a flashlight shining right on Connor. His armband caught the light, leaving no room for error. They'd been discovered. Chris called out, betraying them.

"We have to go," Hank whispered. "Now."

"It's too late, Hank… We're surrounded." Connor paused, his eyes wide with doubt and fear. He reached for Hank and kissed him full on the lips. Hank yielded to the kiss, his heart answering for him before his mind could even catch up. He kissed back with everything he had, realizing this was their last chance. There was nowhere left to run. They parted, pressing their foreheads together. Hank realized there was so much he wanted to tell Connor, and now he'd never get the opportunity. His feelings didn't seem so complicated after all, when Connor made them so simple.

The front door crashed open and several DPD officers parted ways to reveal Gavin. He stepped forward, pistol in hand and a wide, smug grin on his face.

"Looks like we caught ourselves a traitor," Gavin said. He circled Hank and Connor, toying with them. He pointed the barrel of his gun at Connor's temple. "I'm going to enjoy decommissioning you." He moved the gun to Hank's head, pressing it into his hair. "How the mighty have fallen. You'll be stripped of your rank and pension. You'll go to jail for this, Hank."

"Take me and spare him," Hank said. "I know you don't believe it, but Connor's alive."

Gavin laughed. "I'm not an idiot, Hank. I know what I just saw. You're sweet on your android partner. What a fucking joke." He shook his head. "You go down and I get a promotion. What could be better?"

"You won't take me alive," Hank said. He pulled his revolver from his belt. This time all the chambers were loaded.

"Hank, _no_ ," Connor cried. It was the sweetest sound Hank had heard in a long time, a cry of care and concern just for him. 

"What, are you going to shoot me, Hank? I don't think so." Gavin chuckled. He moved his gun back to Connor's head. "Move a muscle and I'll blow its brains out."

"You're going to kill him anyway," Hank said. Gavin's smirk told him yes.

"Hank!" Connor cried. "Please, don't!"

"Love you, Connor. Sorry I didn't figure it out sooner." Hank lifted the gun to his temple. Connor's eyes brimmed with tears and Hank smiled. "Don't look so sad. I'll get to see Cole again." 

Gavin looked at him as if to dare him, but Hank's eyes were all for Connor. His LED was blinking red, his stress levels out of control. Hank was touched that Connor cared so much for an old man like him. "If there is a heaven for androids—and I bet there is, I'll see you there, Connor."

He pulled the trigger to end his own life. The last thing he saw was a tear rolling down Connor's right cheek as Gavin's bullet tore through his head with a spray of blue blood and biocomponents.

**Author's Note:**

> I love wondering "what if" with this game and pairing, even the dark and depressing outcomes are fascinating.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are appreciated!


End file.
